A Court of Darkness and Melodies

Chapter 18

Azriel's POV

Azriel leaned against a wall in the training room, his gaze going to the clock on the wall repeatedly, his patience wearing thin.

Gwyn was supposed to meet him at 5am, a few hours before the other priestesses arrived, so that Azriel could teach her the basics of spying before their daily training session began. He had been waiting since the past hour and only some time was left until the other priestesses arrived.

And apparently Gwyn had overslept.

Puffing out a breath in annoyance, he walked into the house and down the stairs, aiming for Cassian's room. He paused outside their door, sighing in relief when his shadows informed him that they were sleeping and dressed.

Opening the door with a click, he stalked to the center of the room, a small grin finding its way to his face when he saw Nesta taking most of the space on the bed. Her arms were thrown wide and her head was on the foot of the bed, with her feet pushing Cassian to one corner.

Shaking his head, he placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to wake her up. "Nesta!" He whispered loudly, when her limp body refused to respond to his relentless shaking. "Nesta wake up!" 

Cassian's head shot up from the corner of the bed when he heard him, and when his eyes found Azriel, he threw a pillow straight at his face. "Get out Az." He mumbled, before his head hit the mattress again and he fell back asleep.

Irritated with how everyone was sleeping peacefully, he pinched Nesta's cheek. Hard. Her hand slapped at his arm, but she refused to open her eyes.

"Nesta! I need you to wake Gwyn up!" Azriel whispered harshly.

"I don't know where her room is." She mumbled groggily, before she fell back asleep.

Azriel groaned out loud in annoyance, throwing a pillow at Cassian for no reason whatsoever, and walked out of the room, making as much noise as possible and leaving the door wide open behind him. He rolled his eyes when they didn't even bother to respond.

He started to make his way back to the training room, muttering to himself about a morning wasted, and as he turned a corner, Gwyn's running figure crashed straight into his chest.

Honestly he was so annoyed at this point, how he had spent an hour waiting for Gwyn, how everyone except him seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and now his shadows failing to tell him of the red haired girl that had come running and crashed into his chest. He didn't know why he didn't hear her coming.

"Sorry!" Gwyn exclaimed as she moved back slightly, her red hair wet. Her rosy scent wafted into his nose and he realized how close they were standing.

And how short she was.

"You're so tall." She mumbled, before moving back. 

Azriel just shook his head at her, fighting the smile that was suddenly coming to his face despite his foul mood. 

"You're late." Was all he said, and he noticed the defiant look come over Gwyn's face before her mouth opened and she blurted, "So are you!"

Azriel just raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say, Really?, and shook his head in exasperation when he noticed the slight pink that flushed across her cheeks. 

He turned around then, tucking his wings in as he started to make his way up the stairs and to the training room. He looked back to see her still standing there, and he gestured at her to follow him, walking into the outdoor space. 

He observed the gray clouds and howling wind, noting how the weather matched his foul mood well.

It was going to be a long training session.

He pointed to the black clothes on the rack when he sensed Gwyn's presence behind him, and said, his back facing her, "Put those on."

He stood there staring at the sky for a few moments, when he felt Gwyn enter again, and he turned around to face her.

He made sure to keep his expression unreadable when he saw her in the tight black shirt and black tights. She put her teal robe on top of it, shivering slightly with the cold as she closed it over herself protectively.

Tying her red hair is a bun, her face unusually grim, she asked him, "Shall we begin?"

******

"So the first rule of spying is that you should know how to remain hidden. Since I have my shadows with me, I can disappear from view anytime I want." Azriel demonstrated, his shadows swirling around him for a moment before he all but disappeared from view.

Gwyn raised her eyebrows, watching he space where he had been from where she sat on a bench, fascinated.

"Since you cannot disappear within a moment like I can, Rhys and I talked over for another job for you." Azriel came back into view, and Gwyn watched, impressed, as he took a step out of thin air. 

"Rhys is one of the most powerful daemeti in Prythian at the moment and even he was unable to break into the minds of any of Koschei's human soldiers. That's where you come in. You won't be a spy but a soldier undercover."

Gwyn opened her mouth to interrupt, her mind bursting with questions, but the wry look Azriel gave her made her shut it again.

"Before you ask," he continued, his velvety voice wrapping around her, "We will be tailoring you to look like a human. Your job will be to gain ranks in his army quickly, and you will face difficulties doing that mind you, not only because you're a girl but also because-"

"Excuse you, why would me being a girl cause difficulties?" Gwyn interrupted defiantly.

Azriel shook his head, "I meant it in the way that they won't let you gain ranks even if you are really good at fighting." He said, smiling slightly at her Oh.

"As I was saying, your job will be to gain ranks in his army quickly, and make friends with the high ranking soldiers, and try to get some information out of them. I, on the other hand, will be spying on Koschei himself and make sure to do what I do best, which is to stay invisible."

Gwyn snorted, and Azriel rolled his eyes at her. "But won't Koschei see this coming?" She asked questioningly. "The plan is kinda obvious if you ask me."

"Hopefully the obviousness will keep him away. And if you keep it normal and make sure not to do anything that's suspicious, it'll keep him off of our tracks. Plus he has a human commander from what I've found and can only escape the lake he's enchained at during the night."

Gwyn nodded, and Azriel could almost see the plan putting together in her head.

"But," he added, his voice wary, "I was wondering about your powers."

He saw how Gwyn went stiff and immediately knew it a touchy topic.

"What about them?" She asked, her voice stony.

Not wanting to pry, he didn't ask the millions of questions in his head, instead resorting with, "I just wanted to make sure you can control them."

Gwyn nodded uncomfortably, and Azriel left it at that. Now that the plan was out, it was time to train.

Word Count: 1309

IM BACKKK!! Haha sooryy for the delay guyss! But like over 20K views while I've been away THIS IS INSANE! Thank you guys so muchh!! 💖😭

This chapter was a lil short, but I think I'm over the writer's block- MAYBE- so will be uploading more!

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